The April breeze gently blew through the black smoked bricks and tiles of the Daming Palace, making the magnificent palace look even more empty.
In the political hall, Li Mi raised his head from his desk and looked at the bright sunshine outside the window. He always felt that something was missing these days.
There was no singing and dancing during the Tianbao period, and there was no intrigue and intrigue for power. Every day was just plain government affairs, but Li Mi did not think that this calm would last forever.
He turned his head and looked at the seat where Li Xian usually sat when discussing matters. It was still empty at this time. He knew that Li Xian had been very concerned about the governors of various places recently, and would always meet with some officials from time to time to understand local affairs.
On the surface, it seems that Li Xian, as a member of the clan, is doing his best to centralize power for the imperial court. In fact, it is possible that Xue Bai is distracting the clan's attention, or even trying to make both the clan and Jiedu suffer losses.
Li Mi has never been afraid to use the greatest malice to speculate on people in power, even though he is a Taoist priest with an immortal style.
Yan Zhenqing and Du Youlin were not in the political hall today, only Wei Jiansu was sitting there, seemingly asleep.
"I heard that Yuan Zai has returned to Beijing."
Suddenly, Wei Jiansu, who had closed his eyes to rest his mind, spoke.
Just now, Li Mi was still thinking that there had been no big fight for power in the court recently. Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Yes, I am meeting His Highness right now."
Wei Jiansu said: "Yuan Zai is quite scheming, but he is greedy. I'm afraid he will become Li Linfu or Yang Guozhong."
In saying this, he was actually looking up to Yuan Zai. In his mind, at least Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong were from good backgrounds, but Yuan Zai was from a poor background and was even more greedy and humble.
Li Mi asked: "His Royal Highness has recalled many officials who are good at money and food expenditure. Is it possible to make a big move?"
"I never wanted to hide it from Chang Yuan." Wei Jiansu said: "Although the Tubo envoy has left, the root of the problem has not been solved. If Dazhalu Gong raises troops to invade this autumn, where will the imperial court come up with military funds?
?When the treasury is empty, it will be difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice."
"We need to raise money and food, but we also need to increase taxes?" Li Mi asked deliberately, "Is it necessary to change the tax system?"
But they all knew Xue Bai's plan.
Wei Jiansu simply said: "His Royal Highness is unwilling to increase the tax, and now is not the opportunity to reorganize the system. It is just to take back the property of the temples in the world to solve the urgent need. Recruiting Yuanzai must be to take charge of this matter."
"Wei Gong actually agreed?"
"To be honest, I don't want to agree." Wei Jiansu said: "But you know His Highness's temperament. He will definitely get the money, grain, land, and population. If not from the temple, where else can he get it?"
If the court needs it, it can always get it, either by raising taxes on ordinary people, or by checking the hidden fields of aristocratic families. Not to mention other wealth, tens of millions of acres of fields, and a population of nearly one million, tax increases will require more
One tenth.
Wei Jiansu didn't want such a thing to happen during his reign, and he didn't want to suffer the disadvantages of annexation of numerous fields. In comparison, Buddhism was a soft persimmon that was easier to pinch.
Li Mi saw through this and said: "Ruling a big country is like cooking a small dish. Wei Gong and His Highness are going to use heavy medicine. But have you ever thought about it? Your Highness's footing is not stable. Such behavior will definitely be criticized."
More than criticism, if Xue Bai dares to go against the entire Buddhist sect when he is still just a prince, he will inevitably encounter strong hostility. Some political opponents who were originally stinging will definitely be waiting for an opportunity to overthrow him from the position of crown prince.
What Li Mi cares about is not whether Xue Bai's position is stable, but he is worried that this kind of power struggle will shake up the situation that has just calmed down, which will not be a blessing to the country and the people.
The reason why he asked Wei Jiansu this was to test whether Wei Jiansu agreed to Xue Bai's matter because he was helpless, or did he deliberately allow Xue Bai to act wantonly and create opportunities for the clan forces?
Wei Jiansu did not reveal his innermost thoughts at all, but sighed: "Everyone who can persuade me has tried to persuade me. Your Highness is determined to go his own way, and this matter is beneficial to the country, so I have no choice but to comply."
Li Bisui shook his head slightly and said nothing more.
Not long after, someone came to report that Yuan Zai had come to visit Wei Jiansu.
Wei Jiansu thought for a moment, got up, and went to the official residence to meet Yuan Zai alone.
When he came back after being demoted this time, Yuan Zai seemed much calmer. The fanaticism in his eyes was replaced by a deeper and more complex emotion, and his temperament became much calmer.
"I have met the right Prime Minister."
Wei Jiansu said "hmm" because he had no good impression of Yuan Zai and his expression was cold.
In the past, Yuan Zai was often looked down upon by others because of his background, including when he was in Wang Zhongsi's family. He had a somewhat sensitive personality and cared a lot about what others thought of him. But now he seems to be calmer, although it is obvious that Wei Jiansu looks down on him.
, he didn’t take it seriously and got down to business.
"I have just met His Highness. Your Highness talked to me about confiscating the property of the temples all over the world, releasing the monks, and returning the temple slaves to their hometowns. This matter is important, and I have been asked to obey the instructions of the right minister."
Wei Jiansu's voice was strong and he said: "Your Highness is worried that I can't do well."
Yuan Zai said: "This official knows a little about planning, and may be able to do his best for the right minister."
In any case, the matter was clearly laid out in front of him. Xue Bai wanted to deal with Buddhism, so he first sought Wei Jiansu's consent and asked Wei Jiansu to express his position. When it was time to do something specific, he sent his confidant Yuan Zai to take charge of the matter.
He took advantage of Wei Jiansu to deal with this matter, but he didn't trust Wei Jiansu that much.
"This is a big deal." Wei Jiansu said, "What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I have to persuade you to take back your life." Yuan Zai said.
This answer was beyond Wei Jiansu's expectation, because this incident should have been an opportunity for Yuan Zai to be reused and prosper.
But Yuan Zai's attitude was very sincere, saying: "His Royal Highness chose to inventory the Buddhist temple properties instead of raising taxes out of love for the people, but this matter is not beneficial to his status. If it causes turmoil in the country, then
It’s too late to regret it.”
It's rare that such a greedy person's views are similar to Li Mi's.
Wei Jiansu asked: "Have you convinced His Highness?"
"No, His Highness has made up his mind." Yuan Zai said, "In that case, all I can do is to complete this errand."
Wei Jiansu looked at Yuan Zai, as if he saw waves in Yuan Zai's eyes.
Not long after the turmoil over the struggle for power in the Tang Dynasty had calmed down, a new undercurrent seemed to be surging.
~~
In the afternoon, Li Xian picked up an official document.
He has been busy investigating military governors in various places recently, and he doesn't pay much attention to some trivial matters in the political hall, but he still knows what major events are happening.
Today, the imperial court appointed another group of officials, presumably to prepare for an inventory of the Buddhist temple property. Li Xian knew about it, but still asked to take a look.
"Most of them were recommended by Yuan Zai, and His Highness has already agreed." Wei Jiansu said.
"If Mr. Wei agrees, I have no objection."
As Li Xian spoke, his eyes suddenly focused and fell on a name in the document.
"Yang Yan."
He thought to himself that the name looked familiar, and then the young man he met by chance while watching the performance came to mind.
"Have you also noticed this boy?" Wei Jiansu said: "Yang Yan is indeed talented and worthy of such a heavy responsibility. It is difficult for a mediocre person like Yuan Zai to have such vision."
In fact, Li Xian also had vision. He had long seen Yang Yan's talent and wanted to recommend Yang Yan as an official.
But during the deep conversation after getting drunk that night, Yang Yan revealed his dissatisfaction with the East Palace, which made Li Xian feel uneasy, so he gave up the idea.
Now that Yuan Zai recommended Yang Yan, does Yuan Zai know Yang Yan's attitude?
Li Xian wasn't sure.
He put down the official document in his hand, handed it back to Wei Jiansu, and said, "They are indeed talented people."
Originally, he wanted to remind him that there might be someone on this list who wanted to overthrow the East Palace, but in the end he swallowed his words.
After all, he was loyal to the ancestral temple and the country, not to the prince personally. Yang Yan just complained a few words after being drunk. Making a fuss out of a molehill would instead stir up an unjust case and make people uneasy.
"Are we really going to destroy the Buddha?" Li Xian asked.
Wei Jiansu waved his hand and said: "It's just taking back the acres and population."
~~
In addition to these prime ministers knowing Xue Bai's true plan, the current public opinion in the world is that the prince of the prison country worships Buddhism, and Buddhism will soon flourish.
There are several reasons. For example, His Highness has a good relationship with Jiaoran and even gave him a poem. For example, the imperial court issued an edict praising Zen Master Hui Zheng who went to Tubo to preach.
It is said that Zen Master Hui Zheng was welcomed as a distinguished guest when he arrived in Tubo. Even Tubo Zanpu wanted to worship him as his teacher. The monks reacted enthusiastically to such rumors and forgot to calculate whether Zen Master Hui Zheng could leave at this time.
Where to.
Just when their atmosphere was at its hottest, an edict from the imperial court poured a large basin of cold water on them, mercilessly pouring it on their bald heads.
The imperial court actually directly requested that temples in the world be demolished. Chang'an, Luoyang, and Taiyuan could each keep five temples, and each state in the world could keep two temples. After the temples were demolished, the stone and wood materials were used to build the posthouses and the iron statues were cast.
Bronze statues of agricultural implements and bells were used to make money, while gold and silver Buddha statues were used to enrich the treasury. All the acres of land produced by the temple were taken over to the court and distributed after measurement.
The remaining temples were divided into three classes: thirty people in the upper temple, twenty in the middle temple, and ten in the lower temple. The rest of the monks and nuns were all returned to secular life, and all tenants and slaves were included in the civil register. After statistics, the fields were divided and taxes were paid.
With the edict, the whole world was in an uproar.
~~
Before issuing the edict, Xue Bai showed it to Li Yazhou.
Li Xiazhou saw it, and his first reaction was to take a breath of cold air and asked in surprise: "Why did Your Highness show this to this poor man?"
"You were the one who initially persuaded me to do this."
"Pindao doesn't." Li Xiazhou immediately denied it and said, "If Pindao really did this, wouldn't he be reviled by thousands of people?"
"You persuaded me in your heart."
Xue Bai didn't give him a chance to refute at all.
Li Yazhou could feel Xue Bai's pressure, so he no longer denied it, stood there and acquiesced to the matter, and then said: "Your Highness has great perseverance."
"It's useless to say flattery." Xue Bai picked up the seal and was about to stamp it on the edict. Suddenly he stopped and asked, "Are you afraid?"
"I am a poor Taoist..." Li Xiazhou admitted rarely. "Although I like to pretend to be gods and ghosts, I am also afraid that there are real gods and ghosts in the world, and I am afraid of retribution."
"You are a Taoist priest, how can you still be afraid of Buddhist retribution?"
"Afraid."
Xue Bai didn't believe this, but for a moment, the hand holding the seal trembled.
He thought that he had been born in two lives, and suddenly he did not dare to say with such certainty that he did not believe in gods, ghosts, or retribution.
I had never cared about it in the past, but at this moment, the words on the edict suddenly seemed to come alive and began to spin around, making people dizzy and unable to see clearly what they were.
He squinted his eyes and tried hard to see, and saw the compassionate eyes of Buddha and countless pious figures.
"Your Highness?"
Li Yazhou saw Xue Bai's fear and hesitation and said: "It's too urgent to do this now, why not wait for Qin Deng..."
"Buddha saves people."
Xue Bai closed his eyes, calmed down, ignored those distracting thoughts, and said slowly: "Believe in Buddhism, believe that it can reduce the suffering in the world, but when believers become more and more pious, the fireworks on the Main Hall become more and more prosperous,
The size of the monasteries is getting bigger and bigger, and the fields are getting more and more. When the monks wear gold and silver and call their slaves and maids, are they still cultivating Buddha?"
He seemed to be talking to himself to encourage himself.
"What they practice is to avoid taxes and force all the burdens on the powerless. This is their kindness. What they practice is to gain power and wealth in the world. In this case, they should face the rules of the world!"
"Crack!"
With a sound, the seal was stamped on the edict without hesitation.
Li Yazhou closed his eyes, knowing that things were irreversible.
He is a Taoist who should be free and easy, and should not have any thoughts of competing with Buddhism. Therefore, even if he wanted to give Xue Bai some advice before, he did not say anything in the end because he knew that getting involved in such a dispute would inevitably lead to ruin.
Got your own Taoist heart.
Now, Tao Xin is finally destroyed.
~~
At night, Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
The bright moonlight reflected the tall tower, forming a beautiful picture.
However, a figure crept forward and reached the foot of the tower.
This was a young monk. He raised his head, squinted, and read the words engraved on the tower in the moonlight. But it was still too dark for him to see clearly, so he lit a torch.
Finally, under the light of the torch, he found the column of words.
"Xue Bai, the number one scholar in Wuzi family in the seventh year of Tang Tianbao's reign."
The little monk then muttered: "The bad guy who repays kindness with revenge!"
After saying that, he picked up the dagger in his hand and scratched it on the tower bricks, quickly crossing out Xue Bai's name.
After that, he was not satisfied anymore, so he simply crossed out Xue Bai's poem "The place where the name is placed under the Ci'en Pagoda, the youngest among the twenty-seven people".
"Damn bad guy..."
Suddenly, someone in the distance shouted: "What are you doing?!"
The young monk turned around and saw his brothers and sisters rushing over.
Everyone rushed to the foot of the pagoda and took torches to shine. Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's glory of being inscribed on the Wild Goose Pagoda was gone, they were all shocked.
"It's over!"
"Originally, Da Ci'en Temple still had a chance to become one of the five temples in Chang'an, but now it's all over!"
"How dare you? Who asked you to cross out His Highness's old name?!"
"Brother, are you saying that His Highness is bad..."
"Didn't say it!"
The young monk was still explaining, but when he was yelled at, tears fell from his eyes.
However, something worse happened. The movement in the temple alerted the Jinwu guards outside, and soon a group of soldiers rushed in.
Soon, they saw what was happening.
"If you mark the prince's old name with a dagger, are you going to rebel?!"
"clang."
With a sound, the dagger in the little monk's hand fell to the ground.
He didn't expect that this small incident seemed to turn into a big case.
~~
The next night.
There is a small Buddha statue on the table, which is exquisitely made and has kind eyebrows and kind eyes.
Li Heng knelt in front of the Buddha statue and chanted sutras in a low voice, seemingly finding inner peace.
In fact, he has always believed in Buddhism. The reason may be that he does not like his father Li Longji in his heart, so he has a good impression of Wu Zhou.
But now that he has lost his power, freedom, and dignity and is imprisoned here, he lives a very painful life, and Buddhism is one of the few things that can comfort him.
The night was very dull, and the sky outside the window was very dark. Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the room.
Li Heng thought for a moment that the Buddha had appeared, but when he raised his head, he was a little disappointed.
"Boom!"
There was a thunder in the sky.
Someone pushed the door open and came in. Li Heng turned his head and saw Zhang Ting running over in a hurry.
"Ting Niang, you are always afraid of thunder, how can you come here tonight?"
Zhang Ting was too lazy to show her soft side in front of Li Heng tonight and said directly: "Someone is here to see me."
Li Heng was imprisoned in the Ten Kings' House. He was already disheartened. He never expected that there would be uninvited guests asking to see him tonight. He couldn't wait to get up and rushed to the outer hall.
However, after running a few steps, he stopped. He slowly turned around and looked at Zhang Ting with a pair of fearful eyes.
"You said, it couldn't be... His Highness is deliberately testing me, right?"
He didn't think he would have a chance to deal with Xue Bai. His biggest wish was just to survive.
Zhang Ting sneered and asked, "Do you think he will let you go?"
Suddenly, another lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating her pale face.
"The reason why he hasn't killed you yet is to silence the world's public opinion." Zhang Ting said, "But you see, when one day he succeeds to the throne and the time is right, he will definitely kill you."
Li Heng swallowed.
Zhang Ting said: "So, even if he sends someone to test you tonight, you must meet him. Anyway, you will die sooner or later, why can't you give it a try like a man?!"
Li Heng still lacked the courage. Finally, he glanced at the small Buddha statue in the hall.
It seemed that the compassionate eyes of the Buddha gave him great courage. He nodded and went to meet the visitor. When he met the visitor, he was a little surprised.
"It's you?! Why are you here?"
"Prince Zhong, time is pressing, so I will keep my story short."
"good."
"The prince is destroying the Buddha. Has Prince Zhong heard about this?"
"What?" Li Heng was shocked and muttered: "Is this... a reason to deal with me?"
He couldn't help but feel desolate in his heart, thinking that indeed Xue Bai would not let him go, and this time he actually wanted to kill him under the pretext of destroying Buddha because he believed in Buddhism.
How can we protect ourselves? We can't just say that the Buddha statue belongs to Zhang Ting and then reconcile with Zhang Ting, right?
On second thought, it might not be a bad idea.
"Don't be impatient. This matter is not directed at King Zhong. Now the people in Chang'an City are in panic and fear of great changes. I am here today to ask King Zhong just one thing."
"But it doesn't matter."
Li Heng felt the solemn look on the other party's face and sat upright, waiting with bated breath.
"Is King Zhong willing to welcome the Supreme Emperor and re-manage the government?"
"Of course." Li Heng answered without hesitation.
After that, he was stunned for a moment and asked himself in his heart, is this his true intention?
Ever since he became the prince, he has really disliked Li Longji. It can even be said that he deeply hates Li Longji.
He thought countless times about what would happen after he seized power and succeeded to the throne. He would give Li Longji many women but kill his true love and let his old body be destroyed by wine and sex in return for the persecution he had suffered over and over again.
He even dreamed that he strangled his neck with his own hands, suffocating the old man's last vestige of life.
But now, because of Xue Bai, he suddenly realized that he could actually get back together with Li Longji.
He can join forces with his father and return everything to the way it was before.
"Did something happen? Li Qian..."
"Loyal King, there is no need to worry. The Crown Prince is going against the grain and will stir up trouble sooner or later. Just wait and see what happens. I will express your attitude to the Supreme Emperor."
After saying that, the visitor got up and left quickly.
Li Heng watched him disappear into the night, his heart surged and he couldn't help himself.
He could see that Li Longji did not just want to seize power now, but had already been secretly preparing to win over people's hearts. This time, Xue Bai showed a flaw, and Li Longji's forces quickly began to join forces.
"How can an emperor who has been sitting on the throne for more than forty years be so easily suppressed by a prince who has been in charge of the country for less than a year?"
Li Heng, who was once a prince, never thought that he would have such an idea before. It was like a mockery of his life.
~~
The rain was pouring down.
Xue Bai stood in the Xuanzheng Hall, looking condescendingly at the city of Chang'an in the rain. But a voice that made him very unhappy lingered in his ears.
"Your Highness, I'm afraid this is a warning from God."
"Your Highness, please take back your life and stop destroying Buddhas."
The officials tried to persuade him in a few words, but in the end, Xue Bai only said two words.
"Back off."
After a while, only Wei Jiansu, Yuan Zai and other people who were responsible for checking the temple property were left in the temple.
Xue Bai then said: "Wei Gong, please tell me."
"Veterans also believe that this heavy rain is a warning from God."
"I'm asking Mr. Wei to talk about the progress of recovering the temple property."
Wei Jiansu said: "There are widespread complaints among the people, but the monks are not cooperating, and some people are even plotting rebellion because of this."
"It's just a few strokes on a brick wall. How can it be considered treason?" Xue Bai thought very broadly and said, "Let him go."
Yuan Zai said: "Your Highness, several monks from Daci'en Temple falsely claimed prophecies and criticized Chengyu. The evidence is conclusive. If we let them go, I'm afraid someone with ulterior motives will take advantage of this matter."
In fact, they all knew very well that the "treason" Wei Jiansu mentioned was not referring to the few monks at Daci'en Temple.
On the contrary, many officials among the court officials now pointed out that those monks who drew pictures and prophecies on the prince's old name were acting as a demon to curse the prince. Moreover, the remarks criticizing the prince were heard by everyone and must be severely punished.
It's just that he didn't say something like "the saint of cross-construction".
This forced Xue Bai to deal with those monks severely.
Conflicts will intensify if they are strictly handled, but if they are not strictly handled, those who oppose the destruction of the Buddha will inevitably feel Xue Bai's weakness, causing a greater wave of opposition and intensifying even greater conflicts.
However, Xue Bai is not confused yet. When considering things, unlike Li Longji who only cares about his own authority in his later years, he must first care about the truth and then protect his face.
"Since it has been found that there is no treason, the person will be released. Da Ci'en Temple is still one of the five temples in Chang'an, but the monks retained must be the thirty most profound in Buddhism. I will personally investigate..."